Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Hey, Hi, and Howdy!

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

The 2009 Ultimate Blog Party is over, but if you want to see who was there, feel free to click on the banner and check out some blogs~

Blessings~
Lis

Friday, March 13, 2009

~~SPRING~~ is definitely on the way!

Guess what we saw today??? Our first two snowdrops! Hurrah!

Our tulip bulbs and daffodils are "sprouting", and this year we're trying "Squirrel Stopper" spray, to see if we can save our tulip bud this year...

And... I noticed something I hadn't noticed before~ we have two lilac trees~ Two colors, and guess what? They have different colored leaf buds as well! The white lilac's buds are a light green, and the purple lilac has maroon leaf buds. COOL! :)

Just wanted to share~

Lis

Want to help build up an adoption fund?

Denice, one of my fellow TOS "Crewmates", has asked a "Favor" from the rest of the crew, and I am happy to oblige. She has asked us to spread the word about a raffle/fundraiser that will help them with their adoption fund. Read what she has to say:

My husband and I adopted our youngest daughter from Kazakhstan 2 1/2 years ago. We have always known that we'd like to adopt again, but didn't think that right now was the best time, since we are hopeful to move to WI sometime this year. Anyway, in Dec. the urge to adopt was hitting me very hard, so I asked the Lord to either remove it (until it was the right time) or show us that it actually WAS the right time!! Wink Well, a week later, we received a phone call from our adoption agency and they asked us if we'd consider being a "test" family for a "pilot" program they were starting in Taiwan! I'd say that was an answer to prayer!!! (And luckily, so did my husband!)

I've been making custom made bags with all proceeds going towards our adoption. This month I am raffling off a custom bag (it'll be custom made to the winner's liking!), tickets are only $5.00 each. All bag styles and sizes are on http://denicescreations.blogspot.com/ .

Since we are the first family to go through this new program, everything is happening at a very accelerated rate! VERY FAST!!! I know that Lord will provide, just kind of freaking my poor husband out! Undecided (And I guess me a little too!)

Thanks for taking the time to look! And any prayers would be greatly appreciated too!!!

If you feel led, please contact Denice...

Blessings~
Lis

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Our favorite Pizza....

Well, this blog hasn't gotten as much use as my TOS Crew reviews blog, but I'm going to try to remedy that. One of my "Crew-mates" introduced me to the world of "memes", so I'm joining my first with this "Works For Me Wednesday" post.

Due to frantic Friday evenings getting out to AWANA, last year was the year of the frozen Schwann's pizza. This year, in trying to "Save some dough", I decided to try making my OWN dough. I searched for a recipe for "Quick Pizza Crust" and found this . I have played with it and modified it over the months, so what follows is my version of quick and easy and TASTY pizza, with no preservatives, and only whole wheat goodness! (Editing to add in another variation that we like right now!)

Friday's Fabulous Fast Fixin's(aka Speedy Pizza)
This recipe makes enough to fill two large rectangular bar pans from Pampered chef(I suppose it would work for two round pizza stones, too, but I don't have any of those, so we eat rectangular pizza!)
  • 4 1/2 tsp yeast
  • 2 tsp sugar(I used Florida's Naturals)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 5 cups whole wheat flour OR 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups white wheat flour, and 1 cup cornmeal (This is our current favorite crust combo)
  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheese(Optional)
  • 2 tsp dried basil OR 1/4 cup Sesame Seeds (Optional)
  • extra olive oil
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
Mix the flour, salt, cheese, and basil in a medium sized bowl, while the yeast is "activating".
When the timer goes off, the yeast mixture should be "creamy", if it is,
Add the yeast mixture and the oil to the dried ingredients, and beat until smooth.
Split in half (I save one half in an airtight container or ziplock baggie for another night)
Let the dough "relax" for 5 minutes, so that it will be easier to roll out.

Shape your pizza, and brush with the extra olive oil, then add the rest of your desired toppings. My kids aren't fans of red sauce, so we tend to go with some combination of the following:
(We always have cheese and sauteed onion slices)

  • meat of some sort (leftover meatballs(sliced), rotisserie chicken, slices of Al Fresco chicken sausages, etc...)
  • sliced grape tomatoes
  • roasted red pepper strips
  • slices of calamata olives
  • sauteed mushrooms
  • steamed broccoli
  • minced garlic

Pop it into the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to let it cool a couple of minutes after baking, so that nobody burns the roof of their mouth.

So... this is what works for us, and I thought I'd share! :) You can find out what works for other families at We are THAT Family which is hosting "Works For Me Wednesday" posts

Blessings~
Lis

Thursday, March 5, 2009

We get to review a Hermie DVD!

We just saw our first Hermie Movie at our AWANA club a few weeks ago (During "Drive in Movie"/"Car" night), and everyone enjoyed it, so I am very excited to say that Thomas Nelson is sending us a Hermie DVD (Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure: It's About Being Unique) to review. If you want to "preview" what we will "Review", just click on the title of this post, and we'll keep you "posted"... ;)

Blessings~
Lis

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

March 2009 Update

I am keeping quite busy:
*With my other blog, Acorns~ Or Homeschooling Nuggets of Gold which has reviews of homeschooling products
*Heading up my local Homeschool Support Group
*Helping out at AWANA as a leader, with my husband, providing music for "council time"
*Helping to lead music every 3rd Sunday at church
*Keeping up with my new toddler
*Carting my oldest to Step-Dance classes 2x per week
*Oh, yes, and homeschooling my oldest two...

We recently attended an educational opera production of Mozart's Magic Flute, put on by the Boston Lyric Opera~ it was great fun, even if Littlest only lasted through 1/2 of the performance before the size of the hall got to him... Oldest and Middlest found it interesting to note the differences from the performance they had seen 4 years previously.

Littlest had his first sledding experience a couple of weeks ago, and he enjoyed himself once he got to sit in his siblings inflated Tube sleds, where he appeared to feel safe and secure, cradled by rubber. ;)

We're planning on taking the kids skiing/snowboarding for the first time ever next week, as well as our traditional maple sugaring tour at the Audubon Sanctuary.

All in all, we're keeping quite busy!
Hopefully I'll be able to update a little more often, and I may even have some literature reviews(non-homeschooling related) to post here... we shall see.
And if I can get my Canon camera fixed, or my "stop-gap" Kodak Easy share(Not so "easy-to-share" I'm finding... :( ) to actually upload to my MAC, I might even make this blog more "pretty" with new photos.

Blessings,
Lis